New Delhi. The country’s largest airline IndiGo is in serious operational crisis for the last five days, due to which thousands of passengers have to face a lot of trouble. There is an atmosphere of chaos at the airports due to continuous cancellation and delay of flights. The incident has not only raised questions on IndiGo’s governance model but also the company’s high-profile board and the efficacy of its internal monitoring system. Questions are being raised whether Indigo management and the board had made any concrete strategy in view of the possibility of crisis.
At the heart of the matter are the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules applicable to pilots, which were notified by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in January 2024. Initially these rules were to be implemented from June 1, 2024, but due to opposition from airlines companies, it was later decided to implement them in two phases from July 1 and November 1, 2025. Despite this, IndiGo could not prepare for their implementation in time, resulting in a shortage of pilots and disrupted duty schedules, leading to operational collapse.
According to the report, there are many well-known personalities on the board of Indigo, but despite them such a mistake is surprising. The board includes names like Group Managing Director of InterGlobe Enterprises and airline co-founder Rahul Bhatia, former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, former SEBI Chairman Damodaran, former Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co Managing Partner Pallavi Shroff, former Trans World Airlines lawyer Mike Whittaker and Chairman Vikram Mehta. Despite this, the Board’s accountability has come under sharp criticism as the lack of preparation has been exposed.
At the same time, questions are being raised on DGCA whether the regulator could foresee the situation in time. However, DGCA has said that it had given continuous warnings and instructions to the airline to complete the preparations. This entire matter has sparked serious debate not only on the management capability but also on the effectiveness of India’s aviation regulatory system. The inconvenience to passengers continues and now all eyes are on Indigo’s corrective action.
